India: Tomato to squeeze kitchen budgets more as prices may rise further

Tomato prices are not likely to ease up any time soon. In fact, the current ₹150 a kg rate may seem like a bargain in some days, experts said, as heavy rains continue to lash Himachal Pradesh, preventing harvests and disrupting logistics.The Himachal crop was supporting supplies from Bengaluru, currently the main source of tomatoes for most parts of the country. Vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, leafy greens etc. may also become expensive because of the disruption caused by record rain in the north Indian hills. The heavy rainfall in north India, especially in Himachal Pradesh, will damage most of the standing crops of tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, capsicum etc., said SK Singh, director of the Indian Institute of Horticulture Research, Bengaluru. Viruses and wilt will rot the crop due to waterlogging, which will result in prices moving substantially upwards. Himachal is a major supplier of cabbage, cauliflower and capsicum not just to Delhi but many states of ...